Nadeem James, a Pakistani Christian who lived in the province of Punjab, was charged for sending text messages defaming the Prophet Muhammad, despite being illiterate, in July 2016. The complaint was filed to the police by a friend of Nadeem’s, and the police soon brought the case against him. Nadeem was tried and placed on death row in September 2016, where he continues to languish.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Nadeem’s lawyer believes there is more past the surface of this case. He said Nadeem had separated from his wife and was seeing a Muslim woman, which had irked the friend who made the complaint, himself a Muslim.

"There’s no denying that the blasphemous poem was forwarded from James’ phone. However, we implored the judge to consider the circumstances that eventually led to the registration of the case against James." - Riaz Anjum, Nadeem's lawyer

Because Nadeem is illiterate, his lawyer believes his friend took Nadeem’s phone without his knowledge and sent the blasphemous messages to himself. In addition, Nadeem’s brother, in an allegation corroborated with anonymous police sources, said that Nadeem’s arrest came about as a result of pressure from local Islamist leaders, who threatened to organize protests and publicize the case if something were not done. Nadeem's brother also maintains that Nadeem is "uneducated" and thus could not possibly have sent the message.

Whatever really happened, the present situation is the same: Nadeem is waiting to be executed over a text message. At the age of 27, he has left behind two children.